Leaving K2 visa holder behind

[Tsup2 0]

My wife came to US on a K1 in November 2007. Her 3 year old son was issued a K2. She chose to leave him behind in the Philippines while she adjusted to life in America. Fast forward 4 months and now she is going home to get him. We were not able to purchase a round trip ticket for her and instead had to buy a one way ticket to the Philippines and then 2 one way tickets from Manila to Denver for her and her son. There was a problem getting her son on the same return flight. The difficulty was that it appeared he was a minor traveling alone. I still dont quite understand the problem but wanted to point out the problem to others in the same situation. The net result was it cost alot more money than we anticipated. Also, it's not an issue of the travel agent getting us a bad deal since the travel agent was her sister-in-law who resides in Canada.

[edp333 9]

I am sorry to hear about your flight issues. The flights going in and out of the Phils are almost always full. I have noticed that the price of flights increase after March 10 last year and this year.

The main thing is that you are able to get your stepson home with his mother.

[Skeeter211 2]

I am in this same position, but I have been told by travel agents that they can still get my wife's daughter a one-way ticket by cross-referencing the two. What airline did you buy from? Did you try going to the airlines directly or were you using a travel agent? I have been told by both that it's possible, but I admit that we have not actually purchased the ticket yet. I know most online agents (expedia, travelocity, etc.) told us they will not do unaccompanied minors and refer you to the airlines directly.

I would be interested in knowing what steps you actually took in trying to secure the ticket for your step-son. Did you try going through the airlines directly?

Thanks.

Scott

[Skeeter211 2]

I just purchased a one way ticket for my step-daughter from a travel agent in Ozamis. Another agent in Cagayan De Oro also said they could sell it to us. All our travel agent required was a copy of the passport/visa pages and the ticket number of my wife's ticket, so i think it is possible if its done inside the PI at least. we are flying Northwest if it makes a difference.

Scott

[Skeeter211 2]

Just an update....I had purchased a one-way ticket from a travel agent there in the Phils, but after giving them the money, they said they had a booking "problem" and could not get the ticket now. The reservation was made, but while they had this ticketing problem, the fares went up (or so they said) and they could not get Northwest to issue the ticket for the quoted fare.....or at least that's what they said after a couple of days of back and forth conversations. They agreed to keep trying to get a ticket in the "budget economy" should one open up, but also agreed to refund our money if we could get a ticket elsewhere.

I kept checking NWA.com and saw that the fares were low again and called the agent back. They checked and they said they still could not get that fare. I called NWA directly in the Phils and they said they could see the lowest fare in their system, but all seats were fully booked....what? They are selling the seats on NWA.com....how can it be "fully booked". I guess they must only released a limited number of seats at one time to the Phils agents.

I hung up and called NWA in America and asked about a ticket. To my surprise, not only did they have a seat for my daughter and would gladly sell it to me, but the agent gave me a "child fare" for her that was almost $200 USD cheaper than what the travel agent and NWA Phils had quoted me. WOOHOOO!!!! I booked it right away. Now I only hope the travel agent will live up to their word and refund my money from the previous booking that was never ticketed. *Fingers Crossed*

So my point is that it is possible to get your K-2 child a one-way ticket (at least with NWA) to the USA after you have purchased a round trip for yourself. No need to split your round trip into two one-ways.

Take care and God bless!

Scott